Old Masters inform students
By Lynde Smith
Staff
Writer
Nine Purdue alumni will return to campus next week
to give students an opportunity to meet and make connections with professionals
in the field.
Old Masters will kick off on Sunday with a banquet,
where Purdue President Martin Jischke will address the program participants
and guests. Then on Monday and Tuesday, the Old Masters will guest lecture
in classes across campus, said Marah Marshall, a co-chair on the central
committee of Old Masters.
There will also be an all-campus reception open
to the public in Hillenbrand Hall at 7 p.m. Monday, said Marshall. This
will give students the chance to interact with the Old Masters. In addition
to meeting the alumni, students will also be able to enjoy refreshments
and the sounds of the Glee Club.
Nick Batta, also a co-chair on the central committee
of Old Masters, said the committee expects at least 300 people to attend
this reception.
The Old Masters are from various career fields,
said Marshall. She said they try to get one alumnus representing each
school to return for the program.
Originally 10 alumni were to be involved in the
program, but Bonnie Lipton, the president of Hadassah, the largest women's
organization in the United States, was originally scheduled and is now
unable to attend.
One alumnus who will be returning was involved
in the Old Masters program when he was a student here. Nels Ackerson,
is now the chairman of his law firm, The Ackerson Group, in Washington,
D.C. He's had his law firm for 10 years, and has been practicing law
for 30 years.
Ackerson graduated from Purdue in 1967 with a degree
in Agriculture Economics. He then went on to graduate from Harvard Law
School in 1971.
"I am most excited about talking with students
about their hopes and aspirations and about their futures and the future
of our country," said Ackerson.
Ackerson has a sister on the faculty at Purdue
and has been on the Dean's Advisory Board for Liberal Arts. He said
he gets to make it back to Purdue often, but not as often as he would
like.
Batta said the best part about Old Masters is that
it is a two-way street.
"The students get to hang out with the Old Masters,
and the Old Masters get to come back to school and let their hair down,"
said Batta. "It is like a homecoming for them."
Old Masters are nominated by people in the University
community, such as professors and deans during the spring, said Batta.
The committee sorts through three years worth of nominations and biographies
and chooses the 10 or 12 people they feel will be of most interest to
the students, said Batta.
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